Aphra Behn's 'Emperor of the Moon' and its French Source 'Arlequin Empereur dans la lune'

<p>Aphra Behn’s spectacular farce <em>Emperor of the Moon</em> (1687) so engaged audiences that it was restaged well into the eighteenth century. Her play was largely adapted from Anne Mauduit de Fatouville’s <em>Arlequin Empereur dans la lune</em> (1684) a <em>commedia dell’arte</em> production by the Comédie-Italienne troupe a performance which also proved immensely popular with Parisian audiences. Within its witty and amusing three acts Behn’s play explores a number of contemporary concerns — from <em>commedia dell’arte</em> to gender and politics to science and astronomy including a plurality of worlds for example — all culminating in the third act’s operatic spectacle. This volume offers a transcription of Behn’s 1687 play with extensive annotations a critical discussion of Behn’s text and the first English translation of Fatouville’s eight French and Italian scenes.</p>